Crop Damage

The Open Arms village is located in the rift valley of Kenya. The area is known for growing maize, which is the staple food for the country. During the wet season, the local fields are covered with the bright green vegetation.

Farmers in our community were racing the weather to get their fields cultivated and planted in time. It appeared that the wet season was going to be earlier than usual when we got the first heavy rains in mid-March. Normally, the wet season begins the first week of April. 

I left Kenya from April 4^th to May 12^th and was shocked to see struggling maize crops in the fields when I returned. Our Open Arms Kenyan staff informed me that the farmers hurried to plant their maize when the rain came early, and then they experienced a four week dry spell. The rain returned the second week of May.

It was really sad to see so many crops failing from the month-long drought knowing how much the people depend on the annual crop for their livelihood. Most farmers were deciding whether to start over or plant beans instead of maize, because beans are a faster growing crop. Many chose to plant beans in the spaces where the maize had not germinated. Now fields with beans and maize growing together are seen throughout the territory. 

Open Arms maize

The soil at the Open Arms village is very rich. We were blessed to see a quick recovery of our maize when several weeks of continuous rainfall caused a growth spurt. Some of our maize stalks are seven feet tall! 

neighbor's maize

Sadly, many of our neighbors continue to struggle with slow growth of their crops even though the rains returned.

But wait … there’s more!

Once the crops started to recover from the wet-dry-wet weather pattern, we experienced a hail storm. Hail is not common in this region. It shredded the leaves on the maturing plants, and knocked some down to the ground. The maize leaves looked like a grade school craft project the next morning. They displayed some very beautiful and intricate patterns. 

Our OA gardeners assured us that our maize would still grow, even the stalks that lay on the ground. As long as the roots are still in the soil and the stalks are not buried in mud, they will produce ears of maize. The stalks that were fully matured in some of our neighbor’s fields will not produce maize, because the pollen was knocked off the tassels by the hail.

I am once again reminded how much farmers (and consumers) depend on the weather. This unfortunate weather pattern could result in hardship for the families in our area and a maize shortage for the country.